We’re now less than a week away from Digital Learning Day 2019, which is coming up on Feb. 28 and celebrated by schools and students in afterschool clubs all around the country! The purpose of DL Day is simple—giving students opportunities to learn with new technologies helps them develop key skills and literacies that they can use for the future. The creators of Digital Learning Day want educators to effectively and intentionally use technology to enhance the learning experiences of the students in their classrooms. Through the high-quality instruction digital tools can help create, students are able to absorb content in new ways, have learning personalized for them, learn anytime and anywhere, and enjoy other advantages in the classroom. So, as this year’s DL Day approaches, let’s make it better than ever!
How Educators Can Become Digital Leaders
Before students can use digital tools to their fullest extent and become empowered to be true 21st century problem solvers, they need to receive the right kind of instruction. This means that their teachers need to be familiar and comfortable with teaching with digital tools and, in the week leading up to Digital Learning Day, it’s a great time for that reminder. You’re aware by now that education is moving away from traditional rows of desks and textbooks and shifting to more engaging and interactive learning so that today’s students are better prepared for the future. Many schools are implementing 1:1 device policies and others are using digital STEM tools to enhance the learning experience. It is the classroom teachers who, with the support of school and district leaders, are leading this shift. As more schools move towards a STEM-centered curriculum, the teachers within that school are being challenged to become digital leaders and equipped to help students become strong digital citizens of tomorrow.
In order to educators to become true digital leaders, they need to be visionaries and act with intent. They need to know their ultimate purpose and use what they know about technology and about the future to create clear goals for them and their students. Technology and other digital resources help them achieve these goals and so too does professional development. For teachers to become ideal digital leaders, they have to seek professional development and be willing to try new things. Not only does today’s PD help educators learn how to use digital tools to instruct their students better, it also helps them bolster their own digital skills and competencies. They’ll begin to know how to effectively use digital tools in the classroom and ultimately spread that knowledge throughout the entire school.
Teachers should also look for any opportunity to collaborate with other digital educators whether that be in person with colleagues from their own school or virtually. Digital tools are not limited to one subject area or grade level, so working with others helps teachers learn tricks and discover new ideas for integrating technology in new ways. Additionally, digital leaders always need to stay curious about what new kinds of tech tools can help them reach their students and always be willing to take risks inside the classroom. The digital tools will change almost yearly, so it is very important to have the willingness to try new things and to embrace change. Finally, educators can learn more about how to use digital tools effectively when they engage with training others. The knowledge they build is something that can be transferred to either other faculty members or, of course, students and, in the process, educators will learn more about the best ways of leveraging digital technology and come full circle with its integration in their teaching!
Leading a Digital Transformation
Digital components should already be a part of most teachers’ daily strategy, but for those who are looking for new ideas or inspiration for introducing it to younger children, there could still be a lot to learn. The first step is arriving at a mindset in which all educators feel comfortable with letting go of the past and becoming more excited than apprehensive about trying something new. This is how true transformation is achieved in digital learning and a necessary step to ensuring teacher buy-in. Teachers might want to follow a step-by-step formula to arrive at the outcome they desire, but this might not always be the best approach because, of course, something could wind up getting overlooked along the way. The truth is there is no one-size-fits-all solution to digital learning and transformation in education. Something that works well in one school might not be successful in another. And, the success of a new EdTech initiative always seems to come back to one thing—adjustments—something that educators cannot be afraid to make when they are needed.
Technology initiatives and transformations in schools tend to start and end with those who are leading— namely principals and/or superintendents. They are the ones who are generally responsible for leading the transformation, supporting it, and evaluating it. Breaking a digital rollout down into these stages helps school leaders more effectively manage and understand their transformation over time. When it comes to leadership, there need to be leaders at all levels, including the school board, within the building itself (principal), the teachers, and the students. The school board needs to be convinced of a digital transformation’s worth because they are often in charge of financial resources. Principals have to be able to establish agreed-upon and realistic expectations for what they hope to achieve. Teachers need to be motivated to experiment with new ideas and tools. And, students need to be able to have their voices heard. When all of these criteria are met, schools integrating more digital learning into their curricula are off to a good start.
When it comes to supporting the digital transformation, simply providing students with a device is not enough. Students and teachers will need to be supported throughout the process and have the opportunity to learn, unlearn, and relearn key 21st century skills and concepts. Professional learning is a key part of this equation and the more opportunities educators have to take a step back and highlight what’s working and what isn’t, the more successful they are likely to be. Finally, the evaluation of digital initiatives is just as important as the rollout itself. Educators need to know ahead of time what data they want to collect, how they will analyze it, and how they will share the results they discover. Ideally, the leading, supporting, and evaluating of a digital transformation should all be done in some capacity simultaneously. When this happens, educators are in a good position to ensure that their efforts of preparing students for the future are being realized.
The Role Libraries Can Play in Digital Learning
Take a look at any school library in the 21st century and there’s a good chance it’s not quite like you remember it. Today’s school libraries can be outfitted with anything from laser cutters and 3D printers to a bank of laptops and personal electronics chargers. Many school librarians are embracing the technological shift that we live through every day—the same one that is dictated by the state of our economy—and are giving their students every chance they can to experience what it most likely will look like in their futures. Once thought of as quiet places for individual meditation and study, libraries now are much more collaborative spaces than they have been in the past and this new trend is made sustainable by the fact that students’ futures will also be collaborative. As computer labs become makerspaces and card catalogs are replaced by virtual reality, librarians are playing a part in the digital shift and it seems likely that role will continue to be important.
Obviously, librarians are among the leading experts of those who provide students with innovative learning opportunities. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that they’re able to build on the expertise they already have and leverage digital tools to help give students the experiences they need from their education. Since they tend to know a lot about the curation of resources, librarians are now using this knowledge to help kids in libraries curate new-age materials, like videos, augmented reality, and other digital content for use in their learning. One of the largest shifts in digital educational content has to do with augmented and virtual reality resources. These types of systems allow educators to immerse students directly within the content they are covering and librarians can serve as helpful guides as students learn and grow. There’s a fairly decent chance that today’s students will soon forego checking out books and instead rely on VR content to help reinforce what they’re learning in their classes and, in many schools, the library will be the place to go to find that content.
One of the future possibilities for school and college libraries as digital content becomes more prominent and more easily accessible is a total digitally interactive studio within the school. Card catalogs and library stacks are already being moved to the cloud in a lot of school libraries, freeing up physical space for these kinds of systems. When these kinds of systems enter libraries, the possibilities extend from traditional libraries to learning commons, makerspaces, discovery zones, and innovation centers. Libraries do not really need to be centralized physical spaces anymore due to the availability of innovative resources. And, librarians may have to learn some new skills to keep up with their shifting roles, but, so far, it seems that many of them are up to the challenge and completely willing to do what is best for their students to learn in an environment that mirrors the real world.
Digital Learning Does Not Have to Disrupt Traditional Teaching
If you didn’t stop and really think about it, it might be easy to think that a shift to a greater focus on digital learning might require educators to completely overhaul their instructional methods. The truth is, however, that the best digital learning experiences should never really disrupt instruction at all. Rather, it should enhance it! Digital tools should be thought of as resources that help make new kinds of teaching possible, which results in students being able to experience new kinds of learning—learning that is better able to prepare them for their futures. Digital tools and the educational apps that work with them are powerful for reaching students and maximizing engagement. Best of all, their use does not mean that educators are forced to completely abandon the more traditional teaching methods to make room for these new ones. A lot of teachers think this is the case, though.
When we advocate for the use of digital tools in K-12 classrooms, we’re not trying to completely overhaul what is currently being done. Improving teaching and learning should always be the ultimate goal and, in this day and age, students need exposure to digital learning to maximize the time they spend in the classroom. That means that school leaders need to evaluate what works and use those findings to make digital-led classroom instruction even better. Most of our advocating comes in the form of speaking highly about hands-on tools for digital learning, but there are plenty of computer-based tools teachers can use as well. Things like Google Forms, Formative, and Pear Deck allow teachers to keep kids engaged by asking them questions and receiving answers in real time. This is one of the most effective ways to supplement traditional classroom lectures and, to be honest, it’s really quite simple!
Digital learning does not also have to be completely tied to STEM. It can certainly be included more in STEAM classes and the art room is another place where students can try new things thanks to digital tools. Digital technology has made possible the creation of all sorts of unique projects, like multimedia slideshows, websites, videos with text displays, and more. Then, there’s the more tactile side of digital learning during which students are using a physical tool, like a robot, and a digital tool, like a tablet, to learn programming interactively. It’s through this kind of experience that they can also work on developing their problem solving and analytical skills but still remain true to the core concepts they need to master. Today, the most effective digital learning takes place when it complements traditional teaching approaches rather than replaces them altogether and creates new opportunities for students at the same time.
The Most Important Things about Digital Learning and Today’s Students
Digital Learning Day is just five short days away and we hope you’ve learned some valuable information for making the most of it so far. To wrap up this week’s post, we’ll leave you with some of the most important pieces of wisdom to remember when it comes to digital learning, today’s students, and 21st century education in general. The first of those is that technology has changed the way that learning is conducted, facilitated, and received in today’s educational environments. Technology allows students to study any subject in any classroom. It’s helped create more interactive classes and fewer opportunities for students to lose engagement. And, on top of all that, there’s no reason to fear that technology is too expensive or will make teachers obsolete. The world is changing and educators at all grade levels need to embrace it.
Technology gives students instant access to important information, which seems like an obvious fact to know, but the simplicity can sometimes be lost. Whereas it may have taken students a couple of hours to do research and find key answers in the past, they can usually find what they’re looking for in a matter of minutes. This has led to a shift being needed in how assignments are created with more of a focus being put on creative and critical thinking rather than simply arriving at the correct answer quickly. Another thing to remember is that learning is now a 24/7 thing. Technology allows students to review information and engage with it anywhere and at any time not to mention it’s changed distance learning in a variety of ways. Third, students are now better equipped to produce content rather than just consuming it, which helps bolster their creative muscles, which remains an important component of their future success.
Digital tools have also made it possible (and easy) to create informal learning experiences quickly and without hassle. Personalization in the classroom can also be more easily achieved with digital tools, allowing students to move at their own pace and consume content that’s more aligned with their interests. Also, cognitive thinking or the need to work hard to find answers is declining because kids can generally find what they’re looking for much more quickly, but this has given teachers the opportunity to focus on and promote the importance of creative thinking, collaboration, and innovative problem solving through hands-on projects not just lectures. All in all, digital tools have led to an increase in student engagement and excitement and has done more to prepare them for what the future may be like. We hope that everyone takes a moment to weave some digital learning into their instruction this Thursday for DL Day and every day after that as well!
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